MacBook Pro M5 Pro and M5 Max (2026) review: The pinnacle of creative power

Apple MacBook Pro 16 (Early 2026)

Pros

fast
Excellent screen
Same solid design as the previous model

cons

It can get loud and hot
heavy
Significant drop in performance in low power mode

The past few generations of MacBook Pros have been virtually identical, regardless of configuration. The new 16-inch line for 2026 has the same design, so looks won’t be a factor when choosing between the M5 Max, M5 Pro, or even the older model. It will all depend on your performance needs. Yes, like most laptops, it gets faster every year, but the big jump in GPU performance is what made the M5 line stand out, as we first saw with the 2025 MacBook Pro 14 inch Equipped with M5.

The MacBook Pro’s display remains excellent, and I still really think the nano-texture coating is worth the money if you’re working in bright or bright conditions. I don’t like that you can’t set the screen refresh rate to 120Hz. The only way to get there is automatically in ProMotion mode – Apple’s adaptive refresh rate technology – but I like to use a refresh rate above 60Hz all the time. Laptops do not yet have panels that support the extended Adobe RGB gamut found in Studio Display XDRIt is not clear whether they will do so or not. But they’re built like tanks and have the weight to prove it, and for professional creative work, they’re really hard to beat.

I only had a few days to test both models, so I’ll be back to test the battery — they’re rated for up to 24 hours, two hours longer than the previous model. The latest generation of 16-inch modelswhich makes it take a long time. I’ll also be doing more app-based testing and some stress testing, but since there’s little change otherwise, I’m confident enough to say that these are still some of the best laptops out there. Apple’s battery ratings are generally determined by the type of test, in our case, continuous video streaming.

Upgrading over the M5 generation to the N1 network chip also helps. Wi-Fi 7 increases stability when connected to the 6GHz channel, and all M5 MacBook Pros were faster to connect and better at maintaining with the Wi-Fi 6E router.

to set

	Apple MacBook 16 (M5 Max)	Apple MacBook 16 (M5 Pro)
Price as reviewed	$6,149; £6,248	$3,649; £3,748
an offer	16-inch Nano-texture, 3456 x 2234 pixels, 254 ppi, 14:9/16:10 aspect ratio; 1000 nits SDR, 1600 nits HDR; 120 Hz	16-inch Nano-texture, 3456 x 2234 pixels, 254 ppi, 14:9/16:10 aspect ratio; 1000 nits SDR, 1600 nits HDR; 120 Hz
CPU	4.3GHz Apple M5 Max 18 core (6S/12P)	Apple M5 Pro 4.3GHz, 18-core (6S/12P) processor
memory	128GB LPDDR5	48GB LPDDR5
Graphics	The Apple M5 Max has 40 cores	The Apple M5 Pro has 20 cores
storage	4TB Apple SSD AP4096Z, SD card slot	2TB Apple SSD AP2048Z, SD card slot
Ports	3x USB-C/Thunderbolt 5 ports, 1x HDMI 2.1, 3.5mm audio	3x USB-C/Thunderbolt 5 ports, 1x HDMI 2.1, 3.5mm audio
networks	Apple N1 chip, Wi-Fi 7 (802.11be), Bluetooth 6.0	Apple N1 chip, Wi-Fi 7 (802.11be), Bluetooth 6.0
Operating system	Mac Tahoe 26.3.1	Mac Tahoe 26.3.1
weight	4.7 lbs (2.2 kg)	4.7 lbs (2.1 kg)

MacBook Pro prices have increased compared to previous years, which reflects… The current rise in component prices. Since you can’t increase the amount of memory after purchase, you may either have to pay a lot more now (for example, upgrading from 64GB to 128GB costs $800) or give in to downsizing. You can get excellent performance even with the 48GB I have in the M5 Pro model, and I recommend configuring my M5 Pro test over the maxed out M5 Max unless you have more extreme performance needs. The $2,699 base M5 Pro configuration with 1TB of storage and 24GB of RAM will likely be powerful.

The 16-inch M5 MacBook Pro with the 14-inch model on the back. — Josh Goldman/CNET

The pinnacle of creative power

Thanks to Apple’s updated chip design, which allows it to increase the number of graphics cores more easily, your choice between the two processors comes down to how powerful a GPU you need: the GPU now (as of the M5) handles not just graphics processing, but complex generative AI calculations. Your choices are 20, 32, or 40 GPU cores, and doubling the cores (from 20 to 40) results in a performance boost of approximately 1.7xa. I found that a 1.2x to 1.8x improvement was most common in my tests, with a 1.5x to 1.8x improvement in generative imaging, gaming, and 3D rendering.

The performance of Apple’s chips has always been remarkably consistent, and with the M5 Pro and M5 Max in the 16-inch MacBook Pro, it’s even more predictable. All chipsets of the M5 line have the same 16-core Neural Engine. This means that the entire MacBook Pro line, including the M5 MacBook Pro 14 and perhaps the M5 MacBook Air as well, seems to perform almost identically, regardless of memory size. For general computing, including the types of AI used in everyday work or school — writing support, basic photo editing, video conferencing processing — it doesn’t matter which M5 model you get.

Two 16-inch MacBook Pro (2025) open and closed on a desk — Design is not a factor when choosing between these laptops.

Josh Goldman/CNET

The 16-inch M5 Pro and M5 Max both have 18 CPU cores, with the same balance of “ultra” (formerly known as “performance”) cores as the 16-inch M5 Pro and M5 Max. New performance cores — Only the 14-inch model can be configured with a 15-core M5 Pro processor. You can expect the same processing performance from both chips, unless everything you do is memory-bound.

In other words, unless you’re running something graphics-intensive, you’ll likely get the same performance for many everyday tasks. Since memory is shared between the CPU and GPU, if you’re not loading high-resolution videos, photos, or games, or using AI to create complex images, video, or code, Pro vs. Max doesn’t matter much either. You’ll need more memory if you’re running a lot of anything: Even Google apps can bog you down if you have a lot of Chrome tabs and large workbooks.

MacBook Pro open on desk — Rumors abound about OLED MacBooks and touchscreens, but this one is impressive in its own right.

Josh Goldman/CNET

Both show a significant drop in performance in low power mode. But as long as you don’t need to use it at max for an extended period of time on your lap, since it can get quite hot, and you don’t mind heavy fan use in the same conditions, you don’t really need to get stuck in this mode.

Finally, this year’s MacBook Pro 16s offers a great upgrade from almost any generation, but this may also be the last generation before the rumored update to OLED screens or touch screens. I think current displays have many of the advantages of OLED already – primarily the P3 gamut and pure enough blacks – along with probably better brightness, but OLED will probably lighten the burden. This monitor still ranks first in its class, so it’s up to you and your needs whether you want to wait.

M5 MacBook Pro vs. M4 vs. M3: Benchmark test results

Cinebench 2026 CPU (Multi-Core)

Apple MacBook Pro 16 (M4 Pro 14C/20C) Low Power 3,228Apple MacBook Pro 16 (M5 Pro 18C/20C) Low Power 3,732Apple MacBook Pro 16 (M5 Max 18C/40C) Low Power 4,015Apple MacBook Pro 16 (M4 Pro 14C/20C) 6,631Apple MacBook Pro 16 (M5 Pro 18C/20C) 8,770Apple MacBook Pro 16 (M5 Max 18C/40C) 8,849